Shepherding God’s Flock
Acts 20:17-38 (17-18)
March 31, 2013
As you know, we are presently in a section
Where Paul’s 3rd missionary journey is coming to a close.
He is bound in Spirit, headed to Jerusalem with an offering for the saints, When Paul gets there he will be arrested and eventually end up in Rome.
And yet, Paul is doing everything he can to be In Jerusalem by Pentecost.
This rush, caused him to sail past Ephesus, to keep from getting trapped there,
And yet Paul is not in such a hurry
That he doesn’t still want to minister to that church in some way.
The way Paul has chosen is to spend some time
With the Elders of the Ephesian church.
(17) “From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.”
Paul’s desire is to hold a type of “Pastor’s Conference”
To minister to and encourage the elders.
This is a beautiful example of how Paul not only could have future goals,
But could also take the time to minister to present needs.
His life was a great balance.
And I am extremely glad he took the time to call these elders to himself,
For as he did, he left behind for us one of the great passages
In regard to shepherding God’s flock.
And this is a topic that must be understood
Not only by shepherds, but also by the flock.
Recently on Wednesday night, while studying Micah
We talked about the pivotal role leadership plays among God’s people.
• Good leaders are certainly used of God to guide His flock and lead
them to where God would have them to be.
• But bad leaders can be equally influential only in a much more
destructive way.
In fact, whenever you look back to some of the most severe judgments
Ever handed out to Israel, it wasn’t just the people that received blame.
God always shared the blame with their leaders.
To Hosea:
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
To Micah:
Micah 3:11-12 “Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, Her priests instruct for a price And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD saying, “Is not the LORD in our midst? Calamity will not come upon us.” Therefore, on account of you Zion will be plowed as a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, And the mountain of the temple will become high places of a forest.”
To Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 10:21 “For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.”
And of course that is why God had such a harsh message
For the shepherds of Ezekiel’s day.
Ezekiel 34:1-6 “Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. “My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.”‘”
So you see the devastating effect that bad shepherds had on Israel.
That is not to excuse the people of the sin they committed,
But their sin does come with the understanding
That they had no one to guide them otherwise.
They had bad shepherds.
And this reality then led to a prophecy of a better Shepherd.
Ezekiel 34:23-24 “Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. “And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken.”
Of course that is a reference to the coming Messiah; Jesus Christ.
We have even read recently in our study of Matthew,
As Matthew quoted Zechariah.
Zechariah 11:4-8 “Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them. “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.” So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me.”
And that was certainly accurate of Jesus in His earthly ministry.
We read in Matthew 9
Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”
And of course who can forget His famous sermon in John 10?
John 10:11-15 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
And so really all the picture becomes a reality in Jesus.
• Whereas Israel’s shepherds had continually led the flock astray and
slaughtered the sheep for their own greedy gain.
• Christ came, not to kill the sheep, but to lay down His life for the sheep.
• He came to shepherd God’s flock.
And we love the fact that God’s flock was more than just Israel.
Jesus said:
John 10:16 “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.”
And so obviously we understand then the picture of what occurred.
• Israel had bad shepherds who continually led her into sin and judgment.
• Christ became the Good Shepherd to rescue the sheep and bring them back into the fold.
You will even see later in Acts 20,
That this was a flock that He purchased with His own blood.
So Christ basically completed or fulfilled
All that God intended of Israel’s Old Testament shepherds.
THE QUESTION IS, WHERE DOES IT GO FROM THERE?
Christ came, purchased God’s flock, gathered God’s flock,
And then Christ ascended back to God.
What now?
He appointed new shepherds to tend that flock.
Who can forget John 21?
John 21:15-17 “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
Many sermons have been preached on this text
Speaking about the 3 fold call to love Jesus.
We’ve heard the difference in Greek words of Phileo and Agape
Regarding the type of love Jesus asked for from Peter.
What is tragically so often overlooked is that
In expressing this love Jesus had a distinct request of Peter.
“Tend My lambs”
“Shepherd My sheep”
“Tend My sheep”
Christ was leaving, His flock was remaining, and so
Christ gave a responsibility to certain men
To take care of His flock until He returned.
These men, whom He entrusted, where His chosen ones, His apostles.
So, having now been purchased and gathered,
The flock once again was put under shepherds
To feed them, to guide them, to protect them, and to care for them.
And that is precisely what these men did.
We find these men teaching the flock
We find these men defending the flock
We find these men ministering to the flock
BUT THEN, THE QUESTION AROSE AGAIN, WHAT NEXT?
I mean, obviously all of these men died, so what happens next?
Well, the process continued to repeat itself.
Those whom Christ appointed as shepherds then began to appoint others
To shepherd His flock when they would leave.
1 Peter 5:1-4 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
This is precisely the point of Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus.
Paul is very thorough to outline the QUALIFICATIONS of a shepherd,
The EXPECTATIONS of a shepherd, the CONDUCT of a shepherd, etc.
Those letters are full of the ins and outs of shepherding God’s flock.
These apostles were passing the torch that had been passed to them.
And that has been seen practically thus far in the book of Acts.
Acts 14:23 “When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
And not only do we have the apostles appointing elders,
But we see that trend literally continue to trickle down.
We actually have Paul commanding those he has appointed
To then appoint others.
Titus 1:4-5 “To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,”
What we have then here occurring is literally a theocracy at work.
We have one head, who is that?
Christ.
The flock is His, He purchased them, He is the chief Shepherd.
The flock is under His complete authority.
Who else has authority over Christ’s flock?
NO ONE
Unless Christ gives them that authority.
So if Christ comes to the flock and says,
“I’m leaving Peter in charge, listen to Him”.
Then Peter also has authority, as he stands upon the authority of Christ.
It isn’t Peter’s authority, it is Christ’s authority given to Peter.
Now, with that authority
Comes some very severe and obvious implications.
1) To reject Peter is to reject who? Christ.
2) If Peter shepherd’s poorly, who does he answer to? Christ.
It leaves Christ as the head, Christ in charge,
Christ to lead, guide, and ultimately judge.
So we have Christ as the Chief Shepherd,
And then we have those whom He entrusts or calls
As the under shepherds of His flock.
One other thing we notice is that
There was always a plurality of these men.
Even here in Acts 20:17, “…and called to him the elders of the church.”
In Titus 1:5, “…appoint elders in every city…”
1 Peter 5:1, “I exhort the elders among you…”
Acts 14:23, “When they had appointed elders for them in every church…”
Now I know we have had some of these conversations in the past,
And some were very concerned about the implications.
So listen, I’m not trying to implement these things right now.
The first time these truths were shown to me,
I responded with as much opposition and hesitation as many of you,
If not more so.
It went against everything I was used to.
And it took me about 5 years before I was even ready to listen.
The point is, God continually reminds me of the importance of
Being patient with His flock, and to allow His Spirit to work.
The reason we are talking about it is because
God works through a proper understanding of His word
And so while we aren’t trying
To change our entire ecclesiastical approach tonight,
We must always be willing to take an honest evaluation of God’s word.
And what we clearly see in God’s word is
Christ is and always remains the head of His church,
And that He entrusted the care of His church to under shepherds
Referred to as elders, pastors, or overseers.
You don’t find God’s church being pastored by one guy,
You don’t find the direction of the flock left solely to the will of the flock.
And that is what Christ instituted.
And it is very important that we all understand this.
THE WAY CHRIST INSTITUTED THE LEADERSHIP IN HIS CHURCH WAS FOR ONE MAIN PURPOSE
THE BENEFIT OF THE FLOCK
• This method of leadership is not about the glory of the shepherd…
• This method of leadership is not about the benefit of the shepherd…
• This method is not so that men can claim abusive authority or some sort of self-serving benefit from the flock…
That was what Israel had before Christ,
He certainly is not restoring the flock under that type of rule.
Rather, Christ put His flock in the care of elders
So that corporately they could seek His will,
To shepherd His flock, in the way that He desired.
If you need examples of that occurring in Scripture, we have seen several.
In Acts 5
The flock was threatened with the spiritual threat of greed and glory.
Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit about how much money their land was sold for in order to gain selfish glory from the church.
Peter stepped in to protect the flock by confronting and exposing them both, God actually enforced Peter’s verdict by killing them both.
We saw another example in Acts 6
Some of the widows were being overlooked in the distribution of food and the problem was brought to the apostle’s attention.
Acts 6:2-5 “So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.”
And that passage actually reveals
A tremendous balance of leadership and sensitivity.
The apostles found the guidance of the Lord as to their role,
And they outlined the type of men that must be selected to carry out this duty,
But they were sensitive also to the congregation,
Giving them a definite hand in selecting these men.
It was a beautiful picture of selfless, humble,
And yet authoritative leadership.
We saw another example in Acts 15
Acts 15:1 “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
A doctrinal issue arose.
What is the church’s stance on Gentile circumcision?
That was a huge issue.
What was the result?
Acts 15:6 “The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.”
And when they came to a Spirit-led conclusion,
The apostles and elders issued an authoritative verdict.
Acts 15:23-29 “and they sent this letter by them, “The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings. “Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. “Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth. “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”
And here is the point:
The presence and purpose of elders is NEVER to abuse or harm
Or rob the flock of any of their God-given rights or blessings.
The presence and purpose of elders is ALWAYS to feed, protect, And guide God’s flock to fully realize all that God has for them.
And I just take those truths and place them in your mind and heart,
So that God’s Spirit can work as He sees fit.
But at the very least now you have an understanding and a basis for
Why the Ephesians had elders and why Paul is eager to meet with them.
Paul knows that the leadership of the flock is important,
And that any guidance and instruction he gives to them
Will directly affect God’s flock.
ALL THAT BEING SAID:
What we have here is Paul giving one of the best passages ever
On what it means to shepherd the flock of God.
We won’t even get close to covering it all tonight, it may actually take us a few weeks.
But here we see 5 things from Paul.
• His Example of how a shepherd lives
• His Expectation of what a shepherd receives
• His Exoneration of his own shepherding record
• His Exhortation to how they should shepherd
• His Entrusting of the flock to their care
So this passage focuses totally on the shepherd, not the flock.
It matters what sort of men they are, and how they shepherd.
Without a doubt one of the biggest causes of anxiety to a flock
Is the possibility or reality of a bad shepherd.
Whether you are in an elder led system,
Or even a single pastor / congregation led system,
The threat of a bad leader is very concerning.
Just as in the Old Testament,
A bad leader can do far more harm to a flock than good.
And it is no wonder that churches can develop a distrust of leaders.
• Too many flocks have been ravaged…
• Too many flocks have been abused…
• Too many flocks have been neglected…
• Too many flocks have been abandoned…
That is why it is important for sheep and shepherd’s alike
To know what a true shepherd looks like.
Now I do want to get started on this text tonight,
But we obviously won’t make it very far.
So let’s look at Paul’s first point
To this group of elders that have traveled out to meet him.
#1 PAUL’S EXAMPLE OF HOW A SHEPHERD LIVES
Acts 20:17-21
When Paul calls these elders to himself,
He wastes no time getting straight to the point.
And before Paul actually gives direct commands
He first reminds them of his example before them.
(18) “And when they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,”
Paul here does something that is almost a lost concept in church today.
In fact today, Paul would be considered arrogant.
But Paul is actually telling these elders to imitate him.
And I know that causes many today to sort of throw their heads back
And accuse Paul of the worst forms of arrogance.
But what it really is, is what is expected.
The shepherd is supposed to be an example for the flock to follow.
Certainly Christ is our ultimate example,
But our earthly shepherds are also supposed to be those
Who show us how to practically live the Christian life.
So a Christian should most certainly ask WWJD,
But a Christian should also be able to look to their shepherd
For an example of that as well.
Jesus did this as a Shepherd:
John 13:15 “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”
And then Scripture affirmed this for all of His under shepherds.
• First as a mandate for shepherds to set a proper example:
1 Peter 5:2-3 “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”
1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”
• And then for the flock to follow that example:
Hebrews 13:7 “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.”
And certainly Paul understood that concept well.
1 Corinthians 4:16 “Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.”
1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”
Philippians 3:17 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.”
Philippians 4:9 “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
1 Thessalonians 1:6 “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,”
And that mindset is carried on here,
When Paul lays out the example
That he intends for the Ephesian elders to follow.
The reality is that Shepherds are supposed to lead exemplary lives
And the flock is supposed to follow their example.
So Paul focuses on that concept, by pointing out that example to them.
He is pointing out, “how I was with you”
This is not what I taught, this is how I lived.
2 Corinthians 10:11 “Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present.”
And that is what he is calling their attention to here.
I want you to remember what sort of man I was.
Now from there Paul is going to outline:
• How he Served
• How he Spoke
• How he Shared
But that we’ll get into next time:
For now, let me just draw your mind
To the importance of leadership,
And the idea that leadership greatly affects God’s flock.
It is not something that we can take lightly,
Nor is it something that we need to do in an incorrect way.
Throughout the centuries, the health of the flock
Has depended largely on the shepherds that have guided her.
And next week, we’ll continue looking at
What those shepherds are supposed to be.
Jeremiah 10:21 “For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.”
